Minnesota Insurance

Two of California’s largest and most influential are the pension funds due to the dumping of managed care plans, members of their health insurance and Contracting directly with doctors and hospitals.

If adopted, for example, moves of the California State Teachers Retirement System and the California Public Employees Retirement System, which account for about 1.5 million people, would change the face of health care in California and perhaps any the nation.

“ I think that is something that we should necessarily very seriously,’’said State Treasurer Phil Angelides, sitting in the offices of the two pension funds and is chairman of the health benefits of public service “. “ We must look, as we can transfer market. And with direct payer, we can provide services in an economic mode.”

Teachers-Fonds, with more than 500000 members, a pilot program in January, if its board is planned to vote on the plan. In the meantime, the mammoths Public Employees’ system of the nation second purchaser of health insurance after the federal government was examining the issue for about a year and is closely observe how the teacher-Fund revenues.

The idea many believe that the next configuration of the troubled nation and is constantly expanding health care, is a kind of end of the course around the maintenance of health and other organizations-Care-plans. Thanks to the elimination of intermediate theory, employers, pension funds and others, the purchase of health insurance may be a better cost control for the premiums and more directly on the quality of patient care.

“ In the next three years, we see a complete overhaul of the health system,”predicted the state controller Kathleen Connell, is also used in the offices of the two pension funds and was a leading player for improvement health care benefits for retired teachers. “ As we pioneered a direct alternative management for teachers, we could be in contact on the market at the right time.”

In direct procurement has shown promise in small markets. A group of companies in Minnesota, their costs for health care decreased by 11 per cent, after it has started to pay doctors and hospitals directly to nearly 150000 employees.

In California, supporters hoped that a move to procurement would direct pension to bypass some of today’s problems, Managed Care insulation, while retired changes in the market.

Just this year, premiums for health care major employers in Germany rose 7 percent, according to a report yesterday by the council of the society William M. Mercer.

At the same time, the health system in California, is in turmoil, with many hospitals and doctors for groups to the brink of bankruptcy and other financial problems in some plans of insurance.

Plans health is not surprising not to have responded warmly to the idea.

The president of the California Association of Health Plans expressed skepticism that such a plan would be the root here, saying it would be too difficult for doctors to take care of administrative tasks related to the holding of a Managed Care Plan.

“ Sometimes, doctors think we can do all these things - and they are trying to do,’’said Walter Zelman, President and Chief Executive Sacramento of the association. “ And they are not very well done. And they do not want. They want good partners managed care plans.”

To be sure go a step, physicians should be directly addressed many obstacles to overcome, especially by the opposition of health plans would.